Council tax increases: Nearly every town hall in the country planning major changes, survey finds

Nearly every council in the country is planning a tax raid on households to boost funding, a new survey has found.

Research has found that more than 90 per cent of town halls are planning council tax increases of up to 5 per cent as well as increasing charges for services such as parking and green waste collections.

It comes amid growing claims by councils about significant financial shortfalls because of the rising cost of social care.

The survey by the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) found that , 94 per cent of town halls intend to increase service charges.

Some councils even plan to charge higher fees for funerals in cemeteries or crematoria, the research found.

The same proportion of town halls also said that they are planning to increase council tax by up to 5 per cent for residents over the coming year, a move that will add around £76 to the typical bill for a household.

Councils are able to increase council tax by up to 5 per cent without having to call a referendum under Government rules.

Millions of homeowners face council tax rises of over £70

The latest survey for the first time suggests that nearly every council in England intends to increase bills for households.

At the end of 2016, only around a quarter of councils had been expected to put up tax in the coming year.

It follows a major row over Tory-run Surrey council, which had been threatening to hold a referendum on whether to increase council tax by 15 per cent.

Theresa May was accused by Labour of offering Surrey a “sweetheart deal” allowing it to keep 100 per cent of business rates in order to abandon plans for the referendum.

According to the survey by the LGiU, four other councils have now abandoned plans for referenda allowing them to raise council tax by more than 5 per cent.

Of the councils surveyed, 52 per cent said that adult social care is the greatest pressure on their finances.

A quarter of the town halls which said they are planning service charge increases said that more than 5 per cent of their 2017/18 budget will now be funded by the hikes to things like parking fees and garden waste collections.

Conservative MP Julian Knight, a member of the Communities and Local Government select committee, said: “Councils need to realise that parking is essential for businesses and retailers and when they are coming to a time when they are going to keep business rates relief, putting up parking charges in this way is going to be self-defeating.

“Councils need to be honest with their residents about their finances. Just trying to use these back-door methods to squeeze cash out of users is not right.”

Town halls are planning increases to council tax and service charges such as parking and bin collections

John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Residents who are themselves struggling to make ends meet are going to be alarmed by this, given that taxpayers across England have seen their council tax rise by nearly 60 per cent in real terms since 1996/97, with a total of 152 local authorities increasing council tax every single year.

“Councils must remember and respect the fact that families are facing financial constraints too so they really must cut out every bit of non-essential spending such as increases in councillors' allowances, for example, before asking residents to dig deeper into their pockets.”

Of the 375 councils in England and Wales, 131 took part in the annual study.

Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of LGiU, said: "Local government finances across the country are in a dire state. Council budgets are stretched beyond measure.

"Increased demand coupled with the management of nearly a decade of cuts from the Government has left local government at breaking point. Everyone is expecting someone to fail. They are just hoping it won't be them."

A series of Conservative MPs have demanded that the Government cuts foreign aid spending in order to fund social care for pensioners.

Philip Davies, MP for Shipley, said: “It is utterly ridiculous that we are increasing taxes for the people just about managing – the people the government is supposed to be prioritising – when there is so much money wasted in overseas aid that could be spent to help elderly and disabled people in our own country.

“I am afraid the government are hugely out of touch with the public on this issue.”